Cameron K. MacGillivray Fund

Cameron Knox MacGillivray, F.C.A., L.L.D. was born in 1905 in Chatham, Ont. Cameron MacGillivray spent most of his life in Hamilton where he had two distinguished careers. He was the founder and senior partner of MacGillivray & Co., Chartered Accountants, until 1972 when he retired and assumed the direction of The Hamilton Foundation for the next ten years.

Prominent on numerous local Boards and Committees, he served as President of the Canadian Club, Thistle Club, and the United Nations Association. In addition to honours accorded by his professional colleagues, McMaster University conferred an honorary Doctor of law degree in 1983 recognizing his business career and his extensive voluntary community service.

To those who knew him, Cameron MacGillivray was the original watch-every-penny man. No wonder people trusted him so much; he never strayed far from his chartered accountant’s financial prudence.

In 1971 Cam had just retired as founder and senior partner of MacGillivray and Partners when the esteemed Ellen Fairclough, HCF Board Chair, tapped him for a little project to keep him busy in his sunset years. She asked Cam to become the Executive Director of Hamilton Community Foundation – an unpaid position at the time.

The retirement project became a passion: Cam joined the Foundation and stayed for 10 years, helping to transform the still-fledgling organization into a substantial force in the community. Though on paper Cam worked three half days per week on Foundation business, he never stopped chatting up the cause.

“I know that in Cam’s very quiet but responsible way, he influenced a great many people who subsequently supported the Foundation and helped to build its resources,” says Judith McCulloch, who succeeded Cam as Executive Director in 1982, a position she held for 13 years.

“Cam was highly trusted in the community and I think it was that trust level that made a difference. If he said something was a good thing, people believed him.”

Though it’s more than 20 years since Cam officially retired from HCF, new bequests still flow in that date back to a conversation with Cam decades before.

Excerpt from 2003-2004 Annual Report

Betty and Jack George

Betty and Jack George

Betty and Jack George on their wedding day in 1949.

 As the first person in her family to go to university, psychiatrist Dr. Lindsey George understands the power of education as a pathway to prosperity. “My parents immigrated here in 1957 when I was just three,” she says. “They had limited education, but they were both able to get good factory jobs and make a comfortable living for our family.

That’s not true anymore. Things have changed. We know that for young people today, education is the key to well paying jobs.” With a focus on the future, Lindsey’s parents encouraged her to excel in higher education and she did – first at Mohawk College’s Child and Youth Program, then through an honours BA at night at McMaster University, a master’s degree from York University, and finally – at age 39 with two children – her MD from McMaster. “My father was dying when I applied to medical school,” says Lindsey with tears in her eyes, “but he hung on until he heard that I had been accepted.”

As a tribute to her parents, Lindsey and her husband Peter Archibald started the Betty and Jack George Family Fund at Hamilton Community Foundation. It consolidates their charitable giving and focuses on employment for youth in poverty and at risk, areas that she and Peter are passionate about. They were attracted to HCF because of its leadership role in poverty reduction and in working collaboratively. “In all my volunteer life, I haven’t seen this kind of coming together,” Lindsey says. “The Foundation has found a way to connect people on important issues – people from different fields of work, different histories and experiences, and different cultures. It’s a new and exciting way of working.”

Lindsey was chairing a multi-sector group working toward affordable housing when she first approached Hamilton Community Foundation for advice. Since then, she has participated in the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction and is an HCF board member. “HCF brings together incredibly active, passionate people,” she says, “and I’m learning every day. If we can get the word out about the work Hamilton Community Foundation is doing, people will want to support it as Peter and I have. We’re still in the middle of our careers, but even a modest contribution like ours can have a huge impact today and even more in the years to come.” 

The couple’s encouragement of higher education is celebrated through daughter Lindsey and son-in-law Peter’s fund at HCF.

Excerpt from 2009-2010 Annual Report

Annie S. Nieman Fund

Nan Stott and her family came to Canada from England after the First World War. They were a musical family, singers and pianists. She worked in various offices around town, latterly as a switchboard operator at CHML Radio. The wartime effort of the 1940’s inspired her to canvass tirelessly, and successfully, for the Victory Bond campaign. Her husband Sam, who had worked for the local newspaper and enjoyed a reputation as a basketball star, died several years ago.

Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report

The Hamilton Spectator Summer Camp Fund

The Hamilton Spectator Summer Camp Fund is used to provide camperships to children whose families could not otherwise afford the cost of summer camp.  Funds are distributed to day and overnight camps in our community

The Hamilton Spectator Summer Camp Fund is a partnership between Hamilton Community Foundation and The Hamilton Spectator.

Priorities & Criteria

To be eligible for funding the applicant must meet the following criteria:

Grant awards are provided for one or two week sessions only.

Applications will be assessed using the following criteria to determine the level of support:

 

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Jack A. Winser Fund

After attending Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School and Delta Collegiate, Jack Alfred Winser worked at this father’s firm, Quaker City Chemical, which supplied soaps to the textile and tanning industries. He retired from his position as president in the mid-1970′s.

Of his many hobbies, which ranged from collecting antique carriage clocks, watches and crystal, to creating rock gardens, reading mystery books, and traveling, Jack Winser’s primary passion was the railroad. Whether model or life size, trains fascinated him.

A friend, Murray McDiarmid, recalls Mr. Winser as generous in his friendships and as someone who really enjoyed meeting people. Jack’s wife and son predeceased him, and since his family had emigrated from England, there were no relatives here.

A supporter of several charities, Mr. Winser left the residue of his estate to the Foundation.

Excerpt from 1995-1996 Annual Report

 

James Sinclair Wilson

After 51 years behind the wheel, cab owner and driver James Sinclair Wilson had earned the affectionate title, “King of the Cabbies” bestowed by his peers in the industry. A regular in front of the then Royal Connaught Hotel, Mr. Wilson’ s Royal Taxi frequently chauffeured such athletes as Gordie Howe and Eric Lindros, singers Tony Bennett and The Four Seasons, as well as hundreds of Hamiltonians. The self made, self-educated driver had the gift of the gab and talked with ease to all of them. Daughter Lori Tomasik remembers the fierce pride he took in his cars. “He had the first air-conditioned cab in the city and the first one with a television set.” His keen interest in the community and world events made cover-to-cover reading of the newspaper a daily ritual. His bequest to the Foundation and the residue of his estate upon the death of his heirs, is consistent with the fact that he was a very giving man, confirms Ms. Tomasik.

Excerpt from 1995-1996 Annual Report

Albert & Betty Walters Fund

Albert Walters

Albert Walters

 

Betty Walters

Betty Walters

Albert Edward Walters was born in England in September, 1912 which, he often noted, was the same year that the Titanic went down.  His mother died when he was four years old, and circumstances were such that at age 8 he continued his schooling at Princess Alice Orphanage and School in Birmingham.

At age 16, he had the opportunity to immigrate either to Australia or Canada.  He chose Canada, and left two brothers and a sister behind in England.  Many of the immigrants arriving in Canada from England were hired out to local farmers and, in Hamilton, they were picked up at Gage House.  The local farmer who hired Albert did not give him a very welcome introduction to Canada.  He was introduced to the farmer’s family as “this is what we got” – an introduction that Albert never forgot.  However, in subsequent years, he worked at other farms where he was well treated and made lasting friendships.

These were depression years and Albert realized that he needed to do something to advance himself, so he enrolled in a correspondence course in electronics and at a later date he took a course in radio out of Toronto.

In 1937, Albert was introduced to Elizabeth (Betty) King by her brother, Alex.  This connection provided him with a “ready-made” family to help replace the siblings he had left behind in England.  Betty, who was born in Northern Ireland, had immigrated to Canada in 1926.

At the outbreak of WWII, Albert enlisted for service in the RCAF, having already been a member of the Reserve.  He served with the 119th Bomber Squadron of Hamilton.  He married Betty in 1939 and was posted first to Vancouver and then to P.E.I. and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia for the duration of the war.

Albert had always been interested in electronics of all kinds, so after the war he and Betty returned to Hamilton where he worked in the radio department of Westinghouse.  Then, in 1949, he decided to open up his own shop.  He and Betty established Dun-Ham Radio and Appliance Store in Dundas.  By the time they opened the store, Albert had already built his own television set, and their home was well equipped with many electrical systems.  A neighbor once observed that “next thing he will have is an electronic wheelbarrow!”

Albert and Betty operated their store very successfully until 1979 when they retired to their home in Dundas.  Betty died after a short illness in 1995 at age 81, and Albert died in 2009 at age 97.  The Albert and Betty Walters Fund has been established to provide access to education for persons in need of assistance, preferably in the Dundas area.

United Nations Association, Hamilton & District Bursary Award Fund

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Organization, the Hamilton & District Branch of the UN Association of Canada endowed an annual bursary for a McMaster University graduate student to undertake field training in remote areas of study among other cultures.

It is hoped that such direct experience will influence the recipients’ future commitment to proactive support of United Nations goals in their professional and person lives.

Excerpt from 1994-1995 Annual Report

Howard & Edna Tugman Memorial Fund

Howard Tugman was General Manager of a Studebaker dealership, Community Motors Ltd., until his retirement in 1961. The following year, he was appointed a Judge in the Hamilton Citizenship Court.

Mr. Tugman was particularly interested in disabled children; he raised funds through the Shriner’s Club and helped to establish the Cerebral Palsy Centre. He was also active in the Red Cross and the Hamilton Rotary Club, where he served as President.

His gift to the Foundation was made in memory of his late wife Edna Pearl (Patterson).

 Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report

Mabel Beatrice Studd Fund

Music, books and protecting the environment topped the list of Mable Studd’s passions. She volunteered to be treasurer for the Bach Elgar Choir where she met William Malcolm who became her personal lawyer. “Mabel contributed to several organizations, she was a very shrewd investor, and she had a good sense of humour,” Mr. Malcolm recalled of the former secretary of the Union Drawn Steel and John Deere. Mabs, as she was known to family and friends, lived to be 82, in recent years in an apartment at First Place.

Staff in both the Royal Botanical Gardens and Hamilton Community Foundation offices remember Miss Studd as an attentive, loyal and generous donor who shunned public recognition for her contributions.

After her death in September 1997, the Foundation was notified of a bequest to be divided between the Community Fund (for general charitable purposes) and the Ray Lowes Environmental Fund (for the preservation and protection of the environment.)

Excerpt from 1997-1998 Annual Report